Electrode holder



June2, 1959 R. w. RuNKr-:L 2,889,447.

ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed Aug. 30, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENTOR ATTORNEY United States i Patent ELECTRODE HDLDER Robert W. Runkel, San Antonio, Tex.

Application August 30, 1957, Serial No. 681,234

3 Claims. (Cl. 219-142) rIhis invention relates to an improved electrode holder for use in holding an electrode while arc welding and has for its primary object to provide a holder including a sheath of electrical insulating material for enclosing all of the electrical conductor parts of a holder so that no conductor part of the holder can be grounded out, shorted or arced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holder which will positively prevent injury to the eyes of a Welder due to sparking or flashing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder wherein the electrical insulating sheath is disposed around and spaced from the electrical conductor parts of the holder and is provided with `apertures so that adequate air can reach the air space within the sheath to prevent overheating of the holder while in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrode holder having a smooth exterior affording no projections to strike obstructions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder having a novel arrangement of parts for maintaining the holder assembled and for effecting opening and closing of the electrode engaging jaws.

Various objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following `description of the drawings, illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of the electrode holder;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holder taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are cross sectional views of the holder, taken substantially along planes as indicated by the lines 4--4, 5--5 and 6 6, of Figure 2, respectively;

Figure 7 is an exploded view in side elevation showing the two electrode gripping jaws detached from the holder and from one another;

, Figure 8 is a sectional view, partly in side elevation, showing a slightly modified form of holder, and

Figure 9 is an end elevational View of the jaws of the holder of Figure 8 looking from right to left of Figure 8.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and rst with reference to Figures 1 to 7, an electrode holder as illustrated therein is designated generally 10 and includes an elongated tubular sheath, designated generally 11, having an end section 12 forming a handle and a shorter end section 13 forming a nose. The sheath or shield 11 is formed of an electrical insulating material, preferably plastic. The handle 12 has an externally restricted inner end 14 which ts turnably and slidably in an internally restricted inner end 15 of the nose 13. The handle 12 and nose 13 are of substantially uniform exterior and interior diameters to adjacent the ends of the sheath 11. The handle 12 has a somewhat tapered outer end 16 and the nose 13 has a rounded restricted outer end 17. The

ends 16 and 17 are open so that the sheath is open from end-to-end thereof. The nose 13 is formed of two corresponding sections or halves 13a and 13b which are internally recessed so that when said sections are assembled together, the recesses thereof will provide a downwardly opening depression or socket 18, as seen in Figure 2. The handle 12 is provided with a plurality of openings or perforations 19 for the passage of air to and from the interior of the sheath 11, and the exterior of said handle 12 is preferably knurled, as indicated at 20, to provide a good handgrip.

A lever 21 anda lever 22 are detachably mounted in the nose 13 and extend into the adjacent portion of the handle 12. Connectors 23 and 24 are mounted in the handle 12 and detachably connect the lever 21 to an electrical conductor cable 25 which extends into the handle 12 through the outer end 16 thereof.

The parts 21 through 2S are formed of electrical conducting material. The connector 23 comprises an elongated body preferably of circular cross section having a relatively deep socket 26 in one end thereof which opens toward the handle end 16 and in which an exposed end 27 of the cable 25 is received and secured in any conventional manner as by soldering. rIhe connector 23 has a threaded socket 28 opening outwardly of the other end thereof, toward the nose 13.

The connector 24 includes an elongated externally threaded body portion 29 of a diameter to fit the threaded socket 28. One end of the body portion 29 is threaded into the socket 28 whereby the connectors 23 and 24 are attached together. When said body portion end is fully seated in the socket 28, a diametrically disposed bore `30 thereof aligns with the diametrically aligned openings 31 of the socket 28 to receive a pin 32 which extends through the bore 30 and openings 31 and which has end portions disposed in diametrically aligned openings 33 of the handle 12, for securing the connectors 23 and 24 iinrnovably together and to the handle 12. The connector 24 includes van outwardly tapered nose 34 which extends from the opposite end of the body portion 29 and which is of smaller diameter at its enlarged end than the body portion 29.

The lever 21 has an outer end forming a jaw 35 and an inner end in the form of an internally threaded annular portion or sleeve 36 which threadedly engages on the remainder of the body portion 29, disposed between the socket 28 and nose 34, for connecting the lever 21 to the connectors 23 and 24 and for forming an electrical connection between the lever 21 and the cable 2S. The lever 2l is provided with transversely spaced apertured ears 37 which are located adjacent an inner end of the jaw 35 and which project from an inner side 38 of said lever. Said inner side 38 is provided with an arcuate groove 39 between the ears 37, as best seen in Figure 4. The lever 21 includes an elongated shank portion 4i) disposed between the ears 37 and the sleeve portion 36.

The lever 22 includes a jaw 41 corresponding to the jaw 35 and disposed in opposed relationship thereto. The jaws 35 and 41 are provided with opposed recessed electrode receiving faces 42. A single apertured ear 43 projects from the inner side 44 of the lever 22, at the inner end of the jaw 41, and is disposed midway between the side edges of the lever 22 and is sized to tit turnably between the ears 37 and in the recess 39, as seen in Figure 4. The lever 22 is pivotally mounted on the lever 21 by the bolt of a bolt and nut fastening 45 which extends` through the aligned apertures of the ears 37 and 43 and through diametrically aligned openings 46 of the nose sections 13a and 13b. The lever 22 also includes a shank 47 which extends from the ear 43 toward the sleeve 36 andY terminates adjacent to but spaced from the inner end of the sleeve 36. The inner sides 38 and 44 of the Shanks 40 and 47, respectively, are disposed in diverging relation to one another toward the sleeve 36, when the jaws 35 and 41 are ina closed position, as seen in Figure 2. The outer side of the shank 47, approximately midway between the ends thereof, is provided with an outwardly opening recess 4S which isdisposed in opposed relation to the recess or depression 13. A compression spring 49 has one end seating in the recess 4S and the` other end seating in the recess 18 for urging the lever 22 to rock clockwise as seen in Figure 2 about its pivot 45 to move the jaw 41 thereof upwardly to an open position.

It will be noted that the fastening 4S in addition to pivotally connecting the lever 22y to thel lever 21 also connects the nose sections 13a and' 13b together and cooperates with the pin- 30 and the connection between the sleeve 36 and body portion 29 to prevent displacement of the handle 12 and noseY 13 away from one another except by rotation of the nose relative to the handle. The pin 30 and fastening 45 cooperate to support the levers 21 and 22 and the connectors 23 and 24 and cable 25 substantially axially within and spaced from the sheath 11 to provide an airspace between said parts and the sheath from end-to-end of the electrode holder 10.

By grasping the nose 13 with one hand and the handle 12 with the other hand one of said parts can be turned relative to the other in a direction for unscrewing the sleeve from the connector body 29 so that the nose 34 will be withdrawn from between the inner ends of the shanks 40 and 47 to permit expansion of the compressed spring 49 for swinging the jaw 41- upwardly to an open position, as Seen in Figure 2. An electrode, not shown, may then be inserted through the opening 17 of the nose 13 and positioned between the-recessed faces 42 and the jaws 35 and 41. The handle 12 is then turned relative to the nose in the opposite direction for displacing the nose 34 toward the Shanks 40 and 47 and so that the nose 34 by camming engagement with the inner side 44 of the shank 47 will rock the lever 22 in the opposite direction or counterclockwise, as seen in Figure 2, for swinging the jaw 41 toward the jaw 35 to clamp the electrode between said jaws and for'compressing the spring 49. lt will be readily apparent that a free circulation of air can occur between the sheath 11 and the electrical conductor parts which are mounted therein so that the electrode holder will remain sufciently cool while in use so that no discomfort will be caused to user due to gripping the handle 12. It will also be apparent that all of the conductor parts of the holder 10 are encased within the sheath 11 so that no sparking or shorting can occur which would produce a ash injurious to the eyes of the user and likely to burn and injure parts of the holder. It will also be noted that the holder it) has no external parts which could snag on any obstruction.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a slightly modified form of nose 50 and levers 51 and 52 which may be substituted for the nose 13 and levers 21 and 22, respectively. Whereas the nose 13 and levers 21 and 22 are straight, the end portions of the nose 59 and levers 51 and 52 are disposed at an angle to one another. The construction of the nose 50 is otherwise identical with the nose 13. The lever 51 is identical with the lever 21 except that the shank 49a thereof is provided with la bend S3 located adjacent the fastening 45 and the shank 47a is provided with a similarly. located bend 54. A socket 48a, which receives an end of the spring 49, and the socket 18a, in which the other end of the spring 49 seats, are formed in the portions of the shank 47a and nose 50, respectively, which are disposed substantially in alignment with the handle 12. As the assembly and operation of the electrode holder havingk the angular nose 50, as illustrated in Figure 8, is identical with the assembly and operation ofthe holder as illustrated in Figures 1 to'7,

a further description thereof is considered unnecessary. The bends of the nose and levers may vary depending upon the particular work for which the holder is to be utilized.

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. An electrode holder comprising a pair of levers of electricalA conducting material, means` pivotally connecting said levers together at a point spaced from their ends, said levers having complementary ends forming electrode gripping jaws, said levers including shanks extending in the opposite direction from said pivot means, the shank of one lever having an internally threaded sleeve disposed beyond the free end ofthe shank of the other lever', arrst connector comprising an elongated body having asocket opening outwardly of one end thereof in which an ex; posed end of an electrical conductor cable: is adapted to, be secured and having a threaded socket opening outf wardly ofthe opposite end thereof, a secondA connector having an externally threaded elongated body one end of which, is threadedly mounted in said threaded socket and the other end of which threadedly engages; in said threaded sleeve, said connectors being formed of electrical conducting material for forming an electrical connection between the conductor cableand said levers,.said second connector having a tapered cam nose extending from the last mentioned end of the threaded body portion thereof between portions of the lever shanks, a tubular sheath of electrical insulating material encasing said leversiand connectors and comprisingV swivelly connected end sections, one, of said end sections comprisinga-handle encasing said connectors and cable end, said other end section comprising a nose, said pivot means extending throughsaid nose, and a pin extending through the threadedly interconnected parts of the connectorsA and through the handle to prevent rotation of the connectors relative to one another and for turning the levers relative to the connectors when the handle and nose are turned relative to one another for advancing the cam nose rela.- tive to the shank of said other lever for moving the jaw thereof to a closed position or for retracting the cam nose relative to said shank to permit the jaw of said other lever to be swung to an open position.

2. An electrode holder as in claim 1, said pivot means and pin supporting the levers and connectors longitudinally within and spaced from the sheath to form an-air chamber between the levers and connectors and said sheath, said handle being provided with a plurality of apertures opening outwardly thereof and into said air chamber, and spring means bearing against the shank of said other lever for urging the jaw of the other lever to an opening position when the cam nose is retracted.

3. An electrode holder as in claim l, said handle being substantially straight from end-to-end thereof, said nose having an outer end disposed at an angle to the inner end thereof and to the handle, and the end portions of the lever Shanks which are engaged by the cam nose being disposed at an angle to the inner end portions of the shanks which project from said pivot means.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,174,809 Varner Oct; 3, 1939 2,294,321 Schulfer Aug. 25, 1942 2,312,763 Linquist Mar. 2, 1943 2,336,712 Bourque Dec. 14, 1943 2,364,508 Bernard Dec. 5, 1944 2,375,836 Bourque: May 1.5, 19.45 2,395,213 Bourque Feb. 19., 1946 2,411,652 Garibay Nov. 2.6-, 1946l 2,432,639` Webster .Dec. 16, 19.47 

